Pissy or Pleasant???

WARNING: This post may contain vulgar language. (i.e. "pissy")

I went to bed last night already having a bad outlook on today. Due to that, I did not sleep well. I woke up feeling the same way. I was being faced, yet again, with the temptation of sin that I have been dealing with for months, needed to go clean my dad's house that he just moved out of, roofers making a ton of noise while working to take the old shingles off, trying to eat good, and the list could go on and on.

But...

Before I even stepped foot out of bed I prayed, "Lord, this day does not belong to Satan. Please help me to not let him control my thoughts. This is your day. Help me to honor you with it!"
Then a sweet little boy came and cuddled up to me in bed. Joy came over me at that moment.
The day began like almost every other Thursday...trying to get one tired Broderick off to school. (This usually means whining and arguing.) I remembered my prayer and prayed it again. This turned the morning around and Broderick was off to school with a smile.
As the morning went on I was still struggling with feeling pissy. Carys has been on spring break and at my side for 4 straight days. Don't get me wrong, she is super sweet! She just loves to be with me, or anyone for that matter. She wanted to put on fancy dresses this morning and dance with me. (In case you are wondering, this is not the way I would choose to spend my morning.) Since I was trying to have an attitude that honors God I did dance with her...in my pjs. All the while praying, "Lord, this is your day. Capture my thoughts."
I did go clean my dads and thankfully got done in time to meet up with 2 fabulous ladies at Chik-fil-A to let the kids play. This was good for me and good for Carys!

God used this simple act to change my attitude from pissy to pleasant. I was able to have great conversation with great friends while Carys played her little heart out. Now I can be thankful for the loud men on my roof. I mean, I am getting a new roof. I can be thankful for my sweet little Carys that wants hugs all the time. I can be thankful that the Lord is oh so patient with me. I can be thankful that my dad paid me to clean his apartment. I can be thankful I have options of things to eat. I am choosing to be pleasant!
(With the help of a lot of prayer!!!)

Are you being pissy or pleasant?

WeekEND News

This weekend we took the kids to a very fun museum not to far from our house. It has been a long time since we have taken a day trip and Rob and I really felt like doing something fun!

Broderick is holding the moon.

Lifting up a car.

Walking through an old town.

Talking on a phone in a phone booth.

Lifting himself up.

There was all kinds of hands on things to play with, experiments, things to watch. Rob and I love to take the kids on "surprises." We never tell them what we are doing...we like to build the anticipation. Sometimes, it is a day trip, a trip to the park, going out to dinner, or an overnight. The kids love to guess...sometimes they are right, sometimes they are not.
We had a great day as a family and made some fun memories. Broderick is already asking if we can go back.

Do you do "it"?

Spring clean that is!
I do. Every year. I love it. It makes things so clean and fresh and feeling like new. Every year I go to the library and get this book. And then I am reminded that the things she suggests doing every week are the things I do when I spring clean. I am no Martha!

My list includes:
- Sweeping out vents
- Cleaning windows
- washing drapes and shower curtains
- wiping down baseboards
- taking down light fixtures and cleaning
- cleaning oven
- moving washer, dryer, stove, fridge and any large furniture and cleaning behind it. (I always find great surprises doing this.)
- scrubbing tile in the bathroom with a toothbrush
- taking everything out of cabinets and wiping them down

This is the list so far and I am happy to that half of the things are done! I am sure I will be adding as I go. Maybe after this "spring" cleaning I can be more like Martha and do
it more often!

What's on your list?

Let the Race Begin

As I have said before, I LOVE Cub Scouts!! This past weekend Broderick had the Pinewood Derby. For those of you that don't know this is when the kids get a block of wood and they have to make it look like a car and then race it. There are rules, a lot of rules, but for the most part they can make the car look like anything. There are also categories that the boys can create their car to fit into and then win prizes. So Broderick made a tank with red, white and blue camo to fit into the patriotic category. (He won most patriotic!!!)

Above: Making the car.
Below: And they are off.
(Can't you see Rob in one of those awesome shirts and neckerchiefs!!?)

Below: The boys!

Below: All the cars.

Room (Redux)

I know I posted a few weeks ago about painting the living room. While I am still working on the color scheme for that room we decided to tackle something smaller. Carys' room. We painter her room purple before she was born. When she moved out of the crib we had her in a toddler bed and then Broderick's old bed (also a bed used my me, my step brother, my cousin, my mom, and my great-grandma) Her dresser was Rob's from when he was little. I loved the idea of the family furniture but as you can see below, it looked pathetic! The lampshade is broke and won't stay on, I never bothered to buy her sheets so they are navy blue, there is nothing on the walls. Pathetic!

Her is the new and improved room!

Her theme is Barbie! I love Barbies, she loves Barbies...who doesn't love Barbies. (If you don't you are not my friend anymore! Just kidding!) Pink walls, zebra print bedspread, black sparkly curtains, Barbies, new bed and dresser. I love it and if you can't tell by her face...she loves it too! We went with a loft bed (Broderick has one too. I hope to show you pictures of his room, but again, we are still deciding on paint. If you haven't noticed, I have trouble with this!) Their rooms, her specifically, is very small. The more space we can gain, the better! The only thing left to do is make some throw pillow, (We will wait until after the sewing class to do that), and find some great things for the walls.

My sweet boy

For those of you that know me know that Broderick is my challenging child. He is super sweet, cares for his sister, helps me out, but out of the two he really challenges me. He is very strong willed and likes to do things at his own pace. All that to say that some days as a mom, like the rest of you, I feel like locking myself in the bathroom and screaming! Monday was not that day! Broderick came home with this:

It was a sweet card he made for us. It really melted my heart and made me remember why I do all the many things I do.

What A Friend I Have

I have a friend who I can call at anytime and we can laugh about nothing really and then in the next breath be crying.
I have a friend that will keep my kids all day so I can have sometime to myself.
I have a friend that I have known for decades and we are still very close.
I have a friend that gives me very Godly counsel.
I have a friend that draws me closer to the Lord each time we talk.
I have a friend that keeps it real.
I have a friend I hadn't talked to in years and when we got together it was like we never missed a beat.
I have a friend that loves to Goodwill shop with me.
I have a friend to scrapbook with.
I have a friend to dance with.
I have a friend to exercise with.
I have a friend to disciple.
I have a friend that makes me laugh every time I talk to her.
I have friend that is always honest with me no matter how hurtful it may feel in the moment.
I have a friend that colors and cuts my hair.
I have a friend that has taught me more about myself than any other person.
I have a friend that I am sure is Superwoman.
I have friend who truly cares for others.
I have friend who is hurting.
I have a friend that would do anything for me.
I have a friend that does not know the Lord.
To be honest, I have GREAT friends!

Most importantly,
I have a friend that died on a cross for me and rose again 3 days later. He forgives all my sins. He knows every hair on my head. He knows what tomorrow holds for me. He will never leave or forsake me. Nothing is impossible for him. He can heal, raise people from the dead, turn water to wine, walk on water, move mountains, and save people from hell!
What a friend I have in Jesus!

Once a Month Resolution

Okay, it is March and I am on my 3rd resolution for the year. I must be honest, I have not been doing great on the prior 2. (exercising 5x per week and eating better) However, I am trying! So this month my resolution is not going to have anything to do with me really. Are you ready...

I am going to read more to my children.

We started last night. Cuddled up in my bed, turned off the lights and read The Magic Treehouse series book #6 with a flashlight. Rob and I used to do so good reading with our kids before bed. Somehow we got away from it. Now, Broderick is getting so good at reading that we will take turns reading from the book.

I will continue to work on my prior two resolutions, which will take a lot of effort, so please pray for me. And...don't tempt me with...(you know who you are!)

Here we go!

It seems crazy to think that I dropped off Carys' registration papers this week. Not only because I can't believe she could be going to Kindergarten next year, but because it is March. August seems very far away. I know it will come fast, but it still seems far away.

Carys is a summer birthday so of course there are questions regarding whether she is ready or not. I heard from one teacher that when a child is 5 they are ready for Kindergarten. I know there is much debate over when a child should go, but Rob and I, along with the Lord, will make that decision based on what we know and see. We, after all, know our daughter the best. I have a conference with her teacher next week and she has screening in May. We will see how the Lord leads us through all of that. The girl loves school and doing "school work" so at least she has that going for her! With all the excitement of having 2 kids in school I think about all sorts of things. I keep getting the questions, "What will you do with all your time?" and "Will you go back to work?" To be honest, she will go for 2 1/2 hours a day, not a whole lot of time. And to answer the 2nd question...I do work! VERY HARD TO BE EXACT! I can totally seeing myself getting a part time job. I have already been subbing at Carys' preschool and loving it. Would love to keep doing it. Whatever I do, it will be VERY part time. I look forward to being able to serve my family in a different way when both the kids are in school. Until then, I will enjoy the moments I have with them at home. All to soon, they will want nothing to do with me. Sigh.